Mumbai, Nov 25 (IANS) There was a time when Rani Mukerji didn't have the courage to "look into Aamir Khan's eyes" and now is a time when she "keeps gazing into his eyes until he asks me not to".

They worked together for the first time in 1998 release "Ghulam". At that time Rani was a newcomer and Aamir was already a star with hits like "Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak", "Dil" and "Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander" to his credit

After hit film "Ghulam", Rani-Aamir came together on screen after seven years for the not-so-successful historical drama "Mangal Pandey" and now they will be seen as a couple in forthcoming thriller "Talaash", their third film in 14 years.

Reminiscing her experience on the sets of "Ghulam", Rani said: "When I did my first film with him, I used to look at his shoes as I used to be all tensed and nervous. I was a huge Aamir Khan fan. I had a crush on him. When I had seen QSQT ('Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak'), I was in school."

"I was very nervous while doing a romantic scene with him. I would look at his shoes because I couldn't look into his eyes because I feared I would fall in love with him," she said in a group interview.

"Now I look into his eyes. I keep gazing into his eyes until he asks me not to," added the actress who did a special appearance in Aamir-starrer "Mann".

The two enjoy a good friendship off the screen and Rani hopes it is for lifetime.

"Over the years, Aamir and I have built a friendship which, I would like to believe, is for life. I would like to believe that I will be attending his 80th birthday also," she said.

Rani, 34, is all praises for Aamir, 47.

"He was a superstar when I did my first film with him and he is a much bigger superstar even now. His focus, dedication and sincerity towards his craft, his approach towards filmmaking, performance and character, has become greater and bigger with time," she said.